Joey Logano Wins Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship

MIAMI— Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Ford for Team Penske, won the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship of his career on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“I worked my whole life to get here. To win a championship,” said Logano. “We have been so close. It has been 10 seasons of fighting for this. I wasn’t sure we were going to get it, but Todd (Gordon) made a good adjustment at the end and we had that no quit attitude.”

Logano became the 33rd different driver to win the series title and the fifth consecutive to win both the Ford EcoBoost 400 and MENCS championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway. To win the 2018 series title, Logano beat out Championship 4 contenders and past MENCS champions Kevin Harvick (2014), Kyle Busch (2015) and Martin Truex Jr. (2017). The Championship 4 contenders finished one through four with Logano crossing the finish line first, followed by Truex, Harvick then Busch.

The Middletown, Connecticut native led a race-high 80 laps and took the lead for the final time after a late restart. The championship capped off a hot late-season run in which Logano scored two wins, six top-5s and eight top-10s during the ten-race playoffs.

The 28-year-old is just the fourth driver 4th driver since 1990 to win a Cup Series championship before turning 30, joining Brad Keselowski (28 in 2012), Kurt Busch (26 in 2004), Jeff Gordon (3 times at ages 24-27 from 1995-98).

On the season, Logano amassed 26 top-10s to help Roger Penske capture his second MENCS owners championship and Ford to win the manufacturers championship.

William Byron, driver of the no. 24 for Hendrick Motorsports, won the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.

About Homestead-Miami Speedway

Homestead-Miami Speedway has been open since 1995 following an initiative to spur economic recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. The Speedway, which was founded by Miami businessman, racing enthusiast and philanthropist Ralph Sanchez, is a 650-acre facility that features a 1.5-mile oval and 2.21-mile road course. The Speedway hosts on-track events nearly 300 days per year and generates more than $301 million annually for the region. In 2017, NASCAR crowned champions in all three of its national series at Homestead-Miami Speedway during Ford Championship Weekend for the 16th consecutive year (2002-17). Champions crowned at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2017 were Martin Truex Jr. (Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series), William Byron (NASCAR XFINITY Series) and Christopher Bell (NASCAR Camping World Truck Series). 2018 Ford Championship Weekend will be held November 16-18.